Help:Formatting
This Help article outlines basic formatting guidelines for articles. You are asked to please adhere to these guidelines when making or editing articles of a particular type. Universal guidelines :These guidelines apply to all articles. Introduction * The first section (or, for short articles without sections, first paragraph) should only introduce the subject. Details should be left to the rest of the article. * Name the subject and synonyms/other names, both in bold, near the beginning of the first sentence. Do not bold every instance of the subject in the text, however. * Limit the amount of wiki-links in the first sentence. * Article sections should start using the second-level header (two equal signs on either side). Don't use level one, because the title of the article is already a level one header. Links * A link to a term should only be made the first time it is mentioned (or only every once in a while if it recurs many times in a long article). * Note that links, categories, templates, etc. are case sensitive except for the first letter. Observe proper capitalization rules, even when making links; if a linked article's title causes a problem, use a piped link. * Thread links: If you mention a thread, do not link its name to the thread. Instead, use a reference footnote and the template. Place the reference right after the thread's name. ** Exception: Follow the conventions for articles on topics. Use of bold The use of bold font should be in accordance with Wikipedia policy. * In the first paragraph of any article, put the article name and any synonyms (including acronyms) in boldface. * The Wiki software automatically puts headings (section titles) in boldface. * Use italics, not boldface, for emphasis. Use boldface in the remainder of the article only for a few special uses: ** Table headers ** Definition lists (example: David E. Kelley) ** Volume numbers in some formats for bibliographic entries for journal articles (example: template:cite journal) Use of italics Italics should be used in the following circumstances: * In accordance with the Wikipedia Manual of Style. * Use sparingly as emphasis. i.e. avoid trying to emphasize with italics. * For the name of topics/threads on the forums. * For titles of books, video games, films, plays, television series, and other long works. ** Don't use for short works. * Don't italicize quotations, unless the original quote calls for italics at some point. * Italicize words when you're writing about words as words or letters as letters. For example: ** Deuce means ‘two’. ** The term panning is derived from panorama, which was coined in 1787. ** The most common letter in English is e''. Use of double quotation marks * Use for direct quotations. * Use for shorter works, i.e. any kind of work that doesn't fall under italics. This includes articles, essays, short stories and poems, chapters, episodes, songs and singles. Naming conventions * Titles use normal case, not title case. In other words, only the first letter of the name (which is automatically capitalized by the Wiki software) and proper nouns should be capitalized; all other words should be lowercase. Some exceptions have been made only due to the prior existence of these articles and categories and the hassle it would be to change them. * This applies to all titles: ** Article names ** Section names in articles ** Category names (→ Exceptions were made due to their creation prior to this policy) ** Template names Thread articles :'These guidelines apply to articles dealing with threads.' * In addition to bolding and italicizing the name of the thread (that is, the article's subject), you should make the title of the thread an external link to the thread itself. ** If the topic of the article is a series, link the name to the first thread in the series. Then, put external links in parentheses, using cardinal numbers written out as the link text. e.g. 'Random Insanity''' (two, three, four, five, six). ** If the thread series isn't part of clear-cut series but does have a spiritual successor or predecessor, link to the most prominent, most popular or most well-known thread of the series. Mention the other threads in the first paragraph of the article, linking to them using the standard thread-link convention ( + footnote). Category:Help